Standing in the Fiery Furnace

Daniel 3:26-28

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunics were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them. Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.

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You don't care for me
I don't care about that
You gotta new fool, ha!
I'd like to laugh at

I have only one itchin' desire
Let me stand next to your fire.

"Fire" by Jimi Hendrix

Let's start with this, Nebuchadnezzar did not dislike Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Shoot, among the Jewish exiles brought to Babylon they were among the King's favorites. The only exile mentioned more in the book of Daniel was Daniel. But still, he's a king and a pagan king at that, so he had his own god and built a statue of the god and decided that everyone had to bow before the statue. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego just couldn't do that and this is where it all began.

Nebuchadnezzar didn't dislike Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but what king can take sass from his slaves?

So the furnace was lit and was set to burn seven times hotter than normal. It burned so hot, the men who took Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to the fire were burned to death putting them into it. But there was not a singe mark nor even the smell of fire on the three when they came out of the furnace. What was odd was that while only three went into the fire, and only three came out, scripture tells us that there were four in the fire.

Nebuchadnezzar knew when he was licked and demanded anyone who blasphemed the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be torn limb from limb. Nasty. Back to that sass thing, the King knew he couldn't sass the Lord.

The joy is that the power of the Lord is so wonderful that it protects the disciples. In the fires of this age and every age, God protects. Against the kings of this age, against those who worship other gods (and yes, there are many who still worship other gods like money, power, fame, and prestige) our God protects us. It doesn't mean we won't ever be thrown into the fire, but it does say that God is with us when we are.

We have all faced some hot, hot fires in this age; but still, when we are assembled, even in the fiery furnace, God is there with us.